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Friday, February 10, 2017

Adjusting to a new administration

LLNL NewsLine - 02/09/2017

Since the founding of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1952, a dozen presidential administrations have come and gone. Each transition came with questions about program shifts and funding impacts. While each administration has set its own priorities, the Laboratory's core mission -- to apply cutting-edge science and technology to make the nation and world safer and more secure -- has stayed the same.

Lawrence Livermore was created as the "new ideas" Lab, a multidisciplinary institution working at the cutting-edge to respond to the world's greatest challenges. Over the past six decades, our approach to innovation has served the nation exceptionally well. We changed the paradigm for nuclear weapons design with the Polaris missile; invented stockpile stewardship to assure the safety, security and reliability of the nuclear deterrent without testing; helped stem proliferation and respond to terrorist threats around the world; and, with our colleagues at Los Alamos and Berkeley Lab, initiated the human genome project.

Change is inevitable when any new administration takes over. Since the inauguration, a federal hiring freeze has been ordered; an immigration ban has been implemented, amended and litigated; and a new Nuclear Posture Review has commenced. As we learn more about these and other developments, and their impacts on the Lab, we will be sharing them with you. So far, it's clear that the hiring freeze does not affect the Lab, since we are not federal employees. We've been carefully tracking the immigration ban, and closely monitoring its immediate and potential impacts on employees and visitors. Our Immigration Services Office in the Strategic Human Resources Management (SHRM) Organization is a resource available to staff with questions. Through the Center for Global Security Research, and in other forums, we maintain tight connections to the nuclear policy community.

In addition, the government continues to operate under a continuing resolution (CR) enacted last December, expiring April 28. In other words, FY17 budgets have not yet been established. New budget priorities under consideration by the administration and Congress could impact funding in the current fiscal year through either a follow-on CR or an omnibus appropriation. Also in play is the federal debt limit, which will have to be increased or suspended by March 15, though the Treasury Department has a variety of means available to temporarily finance the government. The Lab will continue to operate in the event of a lapse in appropriations associated with either the CR or the debt limit, since our programs have healthy carry-over funding. On the whole, I expect budget impacts to the Lab this year to be minimal, despite these uncertainties.

Above all, it is important that we continue our important work through this period of change with a commitment to excellence and integrity, safety and security, that are the hallmarks of our Lab.

At least some of those countries are on the sensitive list. No visitors to the lab from there, not without very high level support that would not be forthcoming. What a ridiculous misleading statement for Goldstein to make.

Be ready for a another Goldstein letter. According to the news a new temporary Travel Ban is coming next week. As Mr. Goldstein continues to show his colors, he continues to lose face among many employees, sad.

8:22 PM is lying. The Executive Order NEVER banned immigration. What it did was temporarily suspend immigration from 7 countries on Obama's terrorism list. For 90 days. This is to give the DHS time to establish what information is needed to properly vet immigrants.

Under Obungle, we were letting people in from countries that sponsor terrorism without knowing anything about their background.

It is an immigration ban, yet we are a nation of immigrants. This world is going crazy.

February 10, 2017 at 8:22 PM

It is a temporary (90 day) suspension of immigration and granting of visas from 7 countries identified by Congress and President Obama over a year ago as presenting terrorist risks requiring additional vetting of immigrants and visitors. It is not a "ban" in any meaningful sense. Perhaps it is you who are "going crazy."

PS: Ask Native Americans if they are happy we are "a nation of immigrants."

Obama let in about 10,000 Syrians last year without reliable background information.

February 11, 2017 at 5:28 PM

Prove the "without reliable background information" claim. You can't because it is not true. The whole reason Obama and Congress settled on the 7 countries was to increase vetting above what was already being done. BTW, I am not a "snowflake" (as far as I know I was the first to use that term on this blog). I am a conservative and I am just tired of the lies from both sides who don't care about facts or history or anything but their rabid ideology. Intellectual dishonesty is disgusting and a symptom of the downfall of the United States. Get honest and get talking honestly, or we all doomed. Do it for your kids.

You are a liar, Snowflake. Obama issued an order in November, 2015 to admit at least 10,000 Syrians in 2016. Not 10,000 fully vetted immigrants, just 10,000. The 10,000 that were admitted in 2016 DID NOT undergo the standard vetting process. How do we know? 1) Insufficient time; DHS/INS requires 18 to 24 months to vet, many of the names weren't known until after the order, and 2) We could not get trusted information from the immigrant's home country, Syria. For you liberal ignoranuses, Obomber was trying to kill Assad so Syria was not cooperating and could not be trusted in any case.

Read the article in the Los Angeles Times published on January 25, 2017 entitled "Federal agents are reinvestigating Syrian refugees who may haveven slipped through vetting lapse". It outlines how federal agents were prevented from seeing information adverse to many Syrian refugees in late 2015 through some unspecified time in 2016. Syrians were not fully vetted.

Bill is not dumb, so you have to wonder what he is doing, publicly spouting crap like this. It sounds like something you'd hear from local Democrat lawmakers, which makes me wonder if he's spouting this crap to please them for some strategic reason. If so, he picked the losing side in a Congress controlled by the other guys. Bad bet.

February 12, 2017 at 7:14 PMAs I said, troll somewhere else. This topic has nothing to do with Hillary Clinton.I am sure Breitbart has many forums, where you can discuss the Syrian refugee article, and people will probably all agree with you. So why come here?In case you have forgotten, this is about a LLNL and Goldstein (neither of them are from Syria)

In that message, Goldstein falsely characterized President Trump's Executive Order as an "immigration ban" which it is not. That led to some liberals parroting liberal lies about immigration, the non-ban, Syrians being fully vetted, and other such bullshit. You awful liberals didn't call those liars "trolls", now did you? Nooo. But when someone who doesn't agree with you and your dishonest ilk posts facts, you try to intimidate. How very tolerant of you.

First, Bill Goldstein sends an email implying that he would protect all undocumented workers at LLNL (who otherwise would have to fear for their own safety and the safety of their family members). Now he is also showing his great concern for the Libyans and Iranians employed there. What's happening at this Lab?!

Looks to be that someone is calling the shots for Goldstein....choices include Pattiz, Napalatino or Budil. Goldstein had a reputation for sane actions until now, so one suspicion is that he's typing what he's told to from on high.

We told you to get back on your meds. Once you are on your meds the next time you post something I disagree with I will once again ask you to go on your meds. Now things are problematic since you are already on your meds. Another option is to call you fascist. I could call you a brown shirt but no one knows what that means I will stick with fascist. Good now that is out of the way.

What Bill and the APS are doing is very simple and very useless. It is called "Virtue signalling".

Virtue signalling is the conspicuous expression of moral values by an individual done primarily to enhance their standing within a social group. The term was first used in signalling theory, to describe any behavior that could be used to signal virtue – especially piety among the religious faithful.[1] Since 2015, the term has become more commonly used as a pejorative characterization by commentators to criticize what they regard as the platitudinous, empty, or superficial support of certain political views on social media; and also used within groups to criticize their own members for valuing outward appearance over substantive action.[2][3][4]

You are railing against more than one person, at least two and probably more. Of course, you are oblivious. You are losing against everyone you argue with too. They have you surrounded with facts and are squeezing down on you like a boa constrictor suffocates its prey.

Snowflake, you're going to keep getting squeezed with facts until you pop like the big, festering liberal pimple you are.

I understand that this "value signaling" is probably just an opportunistic attempt to present himself to the workforce as everybody's protector and savior. What I don't get is that in the process he has implied that the Lab under his leadership has been employing illegal aliens, in blatant violation of federal law, and citizens of the seven countries, which have long been off limits at the NNSA laboratories per DOE policy. If any of this is true, Bill should be in very serious trouble with the FBI.

Bill knows that there are no illegal aliens at LLNL and that we are bringing in new staff members from Yemen next week and that is exactly why he is saying it. It has no meaning but it makes you sound virtuous. It is like saying "At LLNL we will not stand for KKK rallies in the cafeteria". Sounds virtuous but it is meaningless since this is not issue at LLNL. It is a cheap and easy way to score points but only among the totally naive. Why not just come out and say that LLNL stands in solidarity with the human rights of the native people of Antarctica and we can all feel good about how virtuous we are.

Memos such as this have no place in a professional setting and Goldstein should be smart enough to know that. With all the UC news in past weeks that is against any moves the administration makes, the memo might have come from UC. Pattiz or perhaps UCOP was the origin of it. UC President Napalitano or the UCOP lab affairs office of Budil may be calling the shots here and Goldstein is just the mouthpiece.

Either that, or he's lost sense of reality and is headed toward delusion?

Mainstream media are the only people calling it "manic", because they're the people who were and deserved to be attacked. You can tell who listens to MSM and believes what they say, because they start calling it "manic" too.

Mainstream media are the only people calling it "manic", because they're the people who were and deserved to be attacked. You can tell who listens to MSM and believes what they say, because they start calling it "manic" too.

February 17, 2017 at 12:28 PM

I did watch it, MSM is calling it manic, however the speech seemed normal to me. So what should I do (1) Believe the MSM and assume I am insane. (2) Assume I am not insane and force myself to believe the MSM. (3) Assume that MSM is incorrect and am sane (4) Ignore this and think about Kim Kardashian and sort just go with the MSM even though I don't really care.

(1) and (4) seem like the best way to go because after all I am part of the 43% of people who did not vote yet I think Trump is Hitler and at the same time not really care. Wow I am am an amazing person!

You seem either very young or very naive and maybe bipolar or schizo. In any case, you do not have your shit together enough to be a functioning adult in society. Please get help. You are far from "amazing." What is amazing is that you have somehow survived in a world that, except for California, demands a degree of self-awareness and intellectual stability to ensure your longevity. Good luck with "finding yourself."

"Anonymous Anonymous said...Under Obungle, we were letting people in from countries that sponsor terrorism without knowing anything about their background.

Why are so many liberals lying about this?

February 11, 2017 at 8:49 AM"

Where did you get those "alternative facts"? Breitbart? Newsmax? Fox News? So you seriously think that the US was letting immigrants in from the Middle East without any background checks or vetting at all?

Oh, leave him alone, he is under Trump's spell and has no thoughts of his own, only what Trump tells him to think. And since Trump doesn't spend any time thinking (what with all the tweeting he has to do), it isn't pretty.

I guess sour and divisive vindictive words aren't limited to those suffering severe TDS. Too bad. I believe it is time to find our better selves, if they still exist. The road we are on doesn't lead to good things for our country. Wake up, partisan meatheads! It's time to be adults.

"So you seriously think that the US was letting immigrants in from the Middle East without any background checks or vetting at all? "

Didn't the FBI, Homeland Security and CIA directors under Obama all testify that the US could not adequately "vet" most of the refugees from Libya, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, and Iran ? I thought that's what I remember hearing on CNN, not Fox news !